Hidden injury
by Arikae
Summary: Post-Trust Metric. The team still hasn't fully accepted Colby back to the team so when an accident involving Megan and Colby occurs, their concern are solely on Megan. Will they realised something is wrong with Colby before it's too late?


**Author's Note: This story is for Kadyann1955. It was her idea and because it's a post-Trust Metric idea, I had to write it. However, I really don't see me writing another one of these after this one because I realised there is only so many conversations I can create between Colby and David without being too repetitive. So unless an all-inspiring idea comes up that's very different to my other stories, this is it (maybe). Thanks for putting up with me! Enjoy.**

 **Warning: un-beta-ed**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters (I hate typing that).**

* * *

 **Two weeks after Colby returns to the team...**

Colby Granger's vision blurred in and out as he walked along side the gurney that was carrying Megan Reeves. She was unconscious. Blood ran down the side of her head, her arm was swollen and she still hadn't responded to any of the commotion around her. "Is she going to be okay?" Colby asked as a nurse pulled him away and pulled the curtains.

"Let the doctors take care of her." The nurse sat him down in a plastic chair in the waiting room. "You should get checked out yourself." The nurse, Sharon, moved his head to the side to take a closer look at the bruise near his temple. "That's quite nasty. You should get a CT Scan, just in case."

"I'm fine." Colby pushed her hand away.

"Yeah, he's fine!" Colby shot out of his seat at the voice, reaching back to stop himself from falling when the room started spinning. It was David with Don right behind him. "What the hell happened?!" David grabbed Colby by the collar, jolting him out of the dizzy spell. He was worried about both agents when Don first told him about the car accident but seeing Colby with nothing but scratches and not seeing Megan ignited the anger he's been holding against Colby since he returned.

Don was angry as well but David wasn't helping the situation by laying into Colby and he could see that the nurse was close to calling security on them. "I'll handle it." He told her.

"You better. He just came out of a car accident too!" The nurse glared at David before returning to her job.

"David, let him go." Don pushed himself between them, pulling David off Colby. "Let him go so he can talk."

Colby remembered the car chase. They got the warrant to arrest the son of a powerful man; a suspect in a murder case. His stepmother's murder. When Colby and Megan were about to drive into the driveway of the L.A mansion, a Porsche came speeding out. It was the kid, Richard Evans Jr. Colby stepped on the gas and gave chase. Megan held on, yelling for him not to lose the boy. Colby didn't intend to but the chase led into busy streets. He put on his siren and drove as fast as the traffic would allow him. Colby was careful but as his luck would have it these days a car came out from the intersecting road. The car would've collided on Megan's side but Colby spun the car around just before it impacted with the front of the driver's side, spinning it around. Colby felt himself get flung forward against the steering wheel. The airbag didn't deploy. More proof of Colby's luck these days. He wasn't knocked unconscious but Megan was. He remembered reaching over to check her pulse. It was strong, but the head wound looked bad. He was about to open her car door when the fire fighters arrived and he left the work up to them.

"We were chasing Richard Evans. The car came at us. I couldn't avoid it." Colby said simply. "I'm sorry."

Don nodded, "It was an accident. LAPD got the kid before he reached the highway."

"That's good." Colby said absently, sitting back down in the chair. He was tired.

"You're a mess, Colby. Why don't you go home and take a shower?" Don told him.

"I'm fine. I want to wait for Megan."

David looked at him in disgust. "Just go! We'll take care of Megan."

Don glared at David, warning him to back off. "Go home and rest." He told Colby.

Colby hesitated before nodding. If he didn't leave David would probably throw him out. "Call me with news?"

"I will." Don promised. He waited until Colby was in the lift before turning onto David. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

David looked at him as if he were dense. "Megan's in here because of him."

"It was an accident! Any one of us could've been behind that wheel. You're acting as if Colby deliberately crashed his car." Don shook his head at David's illogical reaction. He knew why David was acting like this. Ever since Colby returned, it was as if he was waiting for him to mess up. He softened his tone when he saw David's anger turn into worry. "Sit down. Nothing we can do but wait."

* * *

Colby didn't realise he didn't have a ride home until he got to the front entrance of the hospital and didn't know which way to turn. He laughed at himself. "I crashed my car." It wasn't a far walk to his apartment. One hour at the most. He would've but he was too tired. He waved down a taxi instead. "North St, Downtown. Thanks."

"You don't look too good, Sir, if you don't mind me saying." The taxi driver said of Colby's physical state. "Should you be leaving the hospital?"

Colby frowned, "I look that bad?" The man nodded. "Hmmm…" It made him wonder. A taxi driver, who didn't know him, could see that he wasn't well, so why didn't his team? "I'm fine. Just a bad day." He said quickly, realising he had zoned out on the man. The rest of the ride was silent. Colby wasn't in the mood to make small talk. His return to the team wasn't going smoothly. He didn't think it would but he didn't think David would be so hostile either. David couldn't understand that Colby couldn't talk to him about his assignment. It didn't matter that he trusted every member of his team completely. It was an undercover assignment. One wrong move could tip off the mole and he couldn't afford for that to happen. The one call he made to Don in the subway almost got him killed…of course it was also what saved his life. Colby was trying so hard to make things right with the team. He could've taken the job in D.C. It was an opportunity for him to climb the ladder but that wasn't what he wanted. He wanted to be a normal field agent, catch the bad guys and put them behind bars. He also wanted to do that with this team; Don, David, Megan and Liz. He didn't want to run away from his problems but there were times when he believed his efforts were hopeless. There were days when he wasn't working with David that it seemed everything was returning to normal, then a look or a micro-expression telling him they still had their reservations. He didn't know what hurt more; the fact that David didn't even bother trying to work with him or the rest of the team pretending everything was normal? He was beginning to wonder whether he should just apply for a transfer. It would be easier on everyone.

* * *

It was three hours later when Megan was released from the hospital. By this time, Larry Fleinhardt was there as well. Megan linked her arm around the professor's as they walked to their cars. "Take care of her, Professor." David requested of Larry.

"I will take very good care of Agent Reeves." Larry promised.

"How's Colby?" Megan asked, only just remembering that Colby was in the car as well. "Where is he? I want to see him before I go."

"He went home. Granger didn't get a scratch on him." David accused.

"Really?" Megan was surprised, "Wow, that was lucky. His side took the brunt of the impact. I wouldn't be leaving here right now if he didn't turn the car."

Don paused, as did David. He had a bad feeling in his stomach that told him they made massive mistake. "What do you mean?" Don asked slowly.

"I mean, the car was about to hit me but Colby spun the car around so that his side would take most of the impact. I'm shocked he got out of this without a scratch."

Larry was fascinated. "That's interesting. A human's natural reflex is to turn away from danger but Agent Granger chose to turn towards it."

"His instinct to protect is stronger than his instinct for self-preservation." Megan's smile was sad. "It shouldn't come as a surprise. We know him, right? It's Colby."

"Yeah," Don sighed, nodding. The guilt was building. He may have accepted Colby back but he never really gave him a real chance. The distrust between them never went away. "It shouldn't be surprising. It's the same Colby we met two years ago." It was time he let go of the distrust.

"So he's definitely okay, right? He got checked out?" Megan asked, rubbing her arm in the sling.

"Yeah, he's fine." Don reassured her, assuming someone had checked him out while he waited for news on Megan. He remembered the nurse talking to him before David grabbed him. "I sent him home to rest."

Megan nodded, relieved he was not hurt. "I owe him." She frowned at David, who hadn't said much. "Are you okay, David?"

David looked a little dazed, "I'm fine. Just glad you're okay." Colby didn't say a thing about what really happened. He only told them they had an accident. That was it. He didn't give any other detail because he knew David wouldn't listen anyway. David hasn't listened to his partner since he returned.

"Hey." Don put a hand on David's shoulder and dropped them a step back from Megan and Larry. "You saw him. He was fine." He whispered, seeing the guilty look on David's face.

"Yeah, he was." David said, unconvincingly.

"Do you want to go past his place? Check on him?" Don asked.

Yes, he did but not after today. He needed to clear his head before talking to Colby. "We should let him rest. He had a bad day. I'll talk to him in the morning." David promised.

* * *

 **The next day…**

David was in the coffee room making two cups of coffee when Colby stepped out of the lift. Colby walked stiffly towards his desk. It was clear he was trying to hide the discomfort in his abdomen. David waited for him to sit down before taking a breath and exiting the break room. It was time he put everything behind him and let go of his anger.

Don was sitting at his table. He saw how David watched Colby as he walked over to his desk. He smiled, knowing David had two coffees because one was a peace offering. Don hoped today would be the day these two set aside Colby's undercover work and moved on. "Morning." He greeted Colby as he sat down at his desk. He frowned at how Colby seemed to be moving very carefully.

"Morning." Colby gave him a tight smiled. He thought it would be a relief to sit down but it just aggravated his abdomen.

"How are you feeling?" Don asked, worried. He could tell that Colby was hiding the pain.

"Fine." Colby lied. He wasn't fine. He couldn't sleep last night because he ached all over and he couldn't stop worrying about Megan. Nobody messaged him about her. "How's Megan?"

Don slapped his forehead, "I'm sorry. I was meant to text you. She's fine. Just a badly sprained wrist and dislocated shoulder. Mild concussion. She's got today off." He watched guiltily as Colby almost deflated with relief. "I'm really sorry I didn't tell you."

Colby shook his head, "It's fine. As long as she's okay." He raised his eyebrow at the coffee that appeared in front of him on his table. He looked up to see David holding another cup. He didn't say anything. He just nodded and sat down at his own desk. "Thanks." Colby said over his shoulder. He was confused. David's barely spoken to him since he returned unless it was about a case, let alone make him a cup of coffee.

Don smiled sadly at the confusion on Colby's face as he looked at the coffee, not quite daring to touch it. "I'm pretty sure he didn't poison it." It was a joke, an attempt at getting a laugh out of Colby. It didn't work.

Colby wasn't sure what to make of the coffee. Did it mean he was finally forgiven for keeping the truth from him? He would've turned around to ask David but a dizzy spell came over him. He closed his eyes, hoping to stop the spinning but it only made him feel nauseous. "Colby, are you okay?" Don moved over to his agent when he saw him visibly pale right in front of him. David spun around when he heard the question. Not only was Colby pale but he had broken into a cold sweat. "What's wrong?" Colby pushed his chair back, leaning over to try and catch his breath, but pain in his abdomen made him sit back up. Moving made his nausea worse. Don saw this and quickly grabbed Colby's waste basket and shoved it under Colby's head, just as his breakfast came back up. However, that wasn't the all that came up. There was blood. "Crap! David call a medic!" Don grabbed a tissue and took the wastebasket away when he saw that Colby was finished throwing up. "Here." He wiped away the blood around Colby's mouth. "Why didn't you say something?" Don felt the guilt building in his chest. "I'm sorry. I should've made sure you got checked out yesterday." He held Colby's head in his hands.

Colby was losing his hold on consciousness. His abdomen felt like it was burning and the room wouldn't stop spinning. Don was talking to him, but he couldn't hear a word he was saying.

"Colby!" Don tapped him on the cheek. "Stay with me. Help is on the way." He slapped him harder when Colby's eyes threatened to roll back. "Don't go to sleep!"

"Ambulance are on their way and Dr Wu is coming down." David reported kneeling next to Colby. "What's wrong with him?"

"I don't know." Don checked his pulse at his jugular. "It's too fast."

Dr Wu rushed over as soon as he got off the lift. "What happened?" He asked before he even reached Colby. He could see it was serious already. David and Don quickly got out of the way. "He's going into shock. Help me lay him down on the floor." David lifted Colby from under the arms while Don got his legs. "Gently." Wu guided them down. "Bend his legs." Don did as he was told, staying at Colby's legs to keep them up. "Anyone want to give me an idea of what might have caused this?"

"He was in a car accident yesterday." David told him as he tucked his black jacket under Colby's head.

Dr Wu blinked, shocked, "I'm going to refrain from asking the obvious right now." It was clear that Dr Wu was not impressed with either of them. "Colby." He called to his patient. "Colby, tell me where it hurts." He turned Colby's head towards him. "Stay awake and tell me where it hurts." He demanded.

Colby couldn't get all the words that were coming out of Wu's mouth. He heard the word 'hurt'. Colby lifted his hand and laid it on his stomach.

"You're abdomen hurts?" Dr Wu asked as he pulled open Colby's beige button up shirt. Don hissed at the bruising around the area. Wu squeezed the bridge of his nose. "How did anyone not notice this?" He pressed gently against Colby's stomach causing him to flinch. "Internal bleeding." He shook his head. "Not much I can do. Give me your jacket." He demanded of Don. Don quickly shrugged it off and handed it to the doctor. Wu laid it over Colby. "We need to keep him warm until the ambulance gets here."

David rubbed Colby's shoulder, hoping to provide a little warmth. "Hang in there, Colby."

Colby frowned at the man above him. David was looking at him but it wasn't his usual expression of contempt. He looked sad and worried. Something was wrong. Someone was hurt. Colby started getting agitated as he tried to work out who on the team was hurt.

"Keep him calm." Dr Wu cautioned, "I don't know how bad his injuries are. Any movement can cause more damage."

"Colby, calm down. It's okay. It's going to be okay." David spoke gently and soothingly. "Helps on the way."

Colby listened to the voice. It's been so long since he'd heard David speak without anger in his tone. He did what he was told but he was still worried. "Is…it Megan?"

"What?" David asked, confused. He looked over at Don who just shrugged, just as lost as he was.

"Are you…worr…ied…about Me…Megan?" Colby breathed heavily after getting the words out.

David closed his eyes, mentally punching himself. Colby was lying here on the ground in pain, losing blood and he didn't think that David was worried about him. He's been so much of a jerk that Colby didn't think he gave a rat's ass about him. "Megan's fine. I'm worried about you." David let out a mirthless laugh when Colby just looked at him with the same confused expression. "Why would you believe me? I've been an ass for the past few week, why would you believe that I care?"

The room started dimming. Colby was losing his hold onto consciousness. Voices in the distance were calling out to him but he was too tired to respond. He felt himself being lifted. Something was placed over his nose and mouth. He was moving. Someone gripped his hand and that was the last thing he remembered before the darkness took him.

* * *

Colby felt as if someone had shot him with a tranquilizer. He felt so weak. He tried to move but nothing would obey him. Eventually, he worked on opening his eyes. His eyelids were made of lead. They wouldn't open. He was about to give up when someone called to him. "It's time to wake up." He felt someone grip his hand and tried to return it. "That's it, Colby. Open your eyes."

David smiled when Colby's eyes fluttered open. "That's better. You really scared us." Colby frowned at him. "Do you remember what happened?" Colby closed his eyes again. "Hey, Dr Whiteman is on his way, so try to stay awake." He forced his eyes to open. "What's the last thing you remember?" Colby opened his mouth to answer David, but his mouth was too dry. "Here." David scooped a spoon of ice chips into Colby's mouth. He smiled at the relief the ice brought his partner. "How's that?"

Colby opened his mouth again, "Thanks."

David nodded, "You're welcome."

"What happened?" Colby wanted to know what landed him in the hospital this time. It wasn't that long ago he was released.

"You don't remember?" Colby shook his head. "You were in a car accident."

Colby frowned as he tried to remember. Suddenly it hit him. "Megan!"

David pre-empted the attempt to sit up and held Colby down by the shoulders, stopping him from hurting himself. "Megan's fine. She's even returned to work."

Colby remembered Don telling him that Megan had the day off so if she's already returned to work then that meant he's been out for an entire day. "What happened to me?"

David sighed, "You had internal bleeding in the abdomen. Dr Whiteman had to perform surgery to stop the bleeding. You'll be fine though."

"Oh." Colby didn't know he had injured himself so badly. He didn't feel much pain after the accident.

David was about to apologise when the doctor walked in. "How's my patient?" Dr Whiteman looked to be in his thirties. "If you could step out for about ten minutes while I run some test?"

David nodded. "Of course." He gave Colby's arm a squeeze. "I'll be back soon."

* * *

David stepped outside of the room. His heartbeat still hadn't returned to normal since Colby collapsed in the office. Colby was given a blood transfusion as soon as he arrived in the hospital. He had lost almost twenty percent of his blood volume. The internal bleeding was severe. He was bleeding in the stomach, intestines and liver. David didn't know how Colby managed to get out of bed let alone turn up for work. Here he was worried about Megan when Colby was worse by far. Colby had turned the car to take the full impact of the collision. Colby saved Megan and David treated him like he was a suspect in a murder case. The guilt wouldn't leave him. He'd been treating Colby like a stranger for two weeks when he should've been watching his back. He knew he would've insisted Colby get himself checked out if this happened before he was revealed as a spy and then an undercover agent. He knew he would've made Colby stay in the ER until a doctor cleared him. Colby almost died because he couldn't get past the undercover assignment.

Don stepped out of the lift at the hospital. He had clocked off early at the office. It was a quiet day of catching up with paperwork. He worried when he saw David sitting outside Colby's room. "Hey, what's wrong?" He asked as he neared his friend.

David looked up, "Colby just woke up. Doctor's checking him over."

Don nodded, "I was asking about you." He sat down in the empty seat next to David.

"He could've died in his sleep because I didn't give a damn about him." David shook at the thought of losing Colby to his stubbornness.

"He didn't." Don told him simply. "You can't do this to yourself, David and you're not the only person at fault here. I'm the one who sent him home. I'm his boss. I should've ordered him to get checked out."

"Why am I doing this, Don? Before all this, he was my best friend." David rubbed his forehead. "I had no doubt in my mind that he was a traitor. We were partners. Out of all of us, I should've had his back."

"He fooled us all." Don squeezed his shoulder. "It was his job and he's clearly good at it. You have to let it go, David. For both your sakes, just let it go."

"I will but not until Colby knows how sorry I am."

Dr Whiteman exited the room. "He's doing very well. I need to monitor him for another day or two. If there are no post-op complications, he should be able to go home then."

Don shook the man's hand. "Thank you."

"He was in a little bit of pain so I've given him a sedative. He's asleep at the moment but you can go in." He gave them a reassuring smile before tending to his other patients.

* * *

Colby sighed at the silence in the room. He's been awake for about ten minutes now and David hadn't said a word to him aside from, "hey." It was getting frustrating. "You know, you don't have to sit with me. The doctors and nurses are taking care of everything." Colby broke the silence. "Go home."

"There's still an hour before visiting hours end."

Colby let out a breath of frustration, "Why are sitting here? Did Don order you to stay?"

David shook his head. "No! I'm here because I want to be here."

Colby studied his partner. "Why?" He winced as he adjusted himself on the bed. He's been lying here for too long. He would've got out of bed if it didn't hurt so much to move.

David sighed. He knew he owed Colby an explanation. He knew the reason behind his change of attitude towards Colby but to Colby it was a 180-degree turn. It made no sense. "I'm sorry." He started simply. He owed Colby that much at the very least. "I've been a grade-A jerk." Colby raised an eyebrow at that. "You're a good agent. I know what you did for Megan. She told me. You saved her life and it almost cost you yours."

Colby shrugged, "She's a teammate."

David nodded, "Yeah, we're teammates. I should've known you had her back."

"Yeah, you should've." Colby was too tired and in pain to keep his frustrations at everything at bay. "Did you really think I'd deliberately put her in danger?"

"I…"

"I'm the same person you've worked with for two years, David!" Colby winced at the discomfort around his stomach. "I lied. I get it, but I never pretended to be anything I wasn't."

David nodded somberly, "I know that."

"Then why the hell have you been treating me like I'm your worst enemy?" Colby's been trying his hardest to make things right between them but it was no use if David refused to give him a chance. "I'm really trying here, David but I'm starting to think all this effort is pointless."

"It's not."

Colby narrowed his eyes at him, "Do you think I don't see it? Nobody trusts me. Don and the others act like everything's normal but I can see the doubt in their eyes. I tell myself I'm just seeing something that's not there." He shook his head. "There's only so many times I can lie to myself."

"After yesterday, we all trust you." David told him.

Colby smirked, "So that's what it takes; almost getting myself killed. Hell if I knew that, I would've gotten myself shot on the first day back." He said sarcastically.

David sighed. He knew he deserved whatever Colby dished out but he really needed his friend to listen to him. "I've been unfair…I know." Colby closed his eyes, turning his head away. He didn't want to hear what David had to say. He was tired of it all and just wanted it to go away but then he realised something. This crap went on for so long because David wouldn't give him a chance and now he was doing the same thing to David. Someone had to give if they wanted to put this all behind them.

Colby opened his eye and looked at David. "I'm listening."

David gave a small smile, hopeful that they would finally be getting somewhere. "I've been angry and I've been directing it at you, but you're not the one I'm angry at." Colby frowned, confused. "You were my partner. I should've given you the benefit of the doubt. I was so sure you were guilty. Everyone else had doubts but I didn't." David held up two fingers. "Two years. We've been partners for two years and I threw it all away because someone read your name out on a recording."

Colby let go of his anger at the guilt he heard and saw in his partner. "You were supposed to believe I was a traitor. It was the only way to lure out the mole."

"It shouldn't have been so easy to convince me." David wasn't letting himself off the hook so easily.

Colby shrugged, "What can I say? I'm really good at my job."

David chuckled, "You weren't that good. Don suspected."

"Don doesn't like being wrong." Colby smiled, telling David they were good.

"Hey, I heard that!" Don had been waiting outside for the last ten minutes. He heard them talking and didn't want to interrupt. His agents needed to talk this out to move on. He smiled when Colby made the wisecrack about him. "You shouldn't talk about your boss behind his back."

Colby gave his crooked smile, "You going to fire me?"

"I should!" Don grinned at the smile he hadn't seen in too long. "But I'm going to let it slide because I'm a nice guy."

"Yeah, right!" David groaned.

"What are you doing here, Don?" Colby asked, grimacing as he pushed himself up a little. "It's getting late."

"I was on my way back home from Charlie's place. Thought I'd drop by." Don told him. "How are you feeling?"

"Not too bad. A little tired." He frowned at the pain in his abdomen. "I think the pain meds are wearing off."

Don worried. It wasn't often Colby admitted to pain. He pressed nurses button. "Listen, before they send you off with a sedative again, I wanted to apologise." Colby let out a breath but didn't interrupt Don. "I wasn't doing my job when I sent you home without getting checked out. It was a bad crash. I should've known better."

Colby shrugged his shoulder, "I'm fine now."

"It won't happen again." Don promised.

"Thanks, Don." Colby closed his eyes. Sleep was pulling at him but the pain was stopping him from resting.

"I'm gonna see if I can find the nurse." David got up, seeing Colby struggle.

Don stepped up to Colby's side. There was a sheen of sweat around his neck, evidence of the effort to control the pain. Colby opened his eyes and saw the worry in his boss's expression. "Stop worrying. I'm okay."

Don smiled, "I know." He meant more than just recovering from the injury. The team was finally over this hurdle. As soon as Colby returned to full duty the team would be whole again.

"Did the doctor tell you how long I'd be out of commission?" Colby asked, trying to distract himself.

"A couple of days here and then a week's rest at home and you can return to modified duty." Don told him.

"I don't like desk duty."

"Who does?" Don laughed.

"You'll let me go out to crime scenes, at least?" Colby begged.

Don shook his head, "Why don't we wait until you're discharged and go from there." He could tell Colby wasn't satisfied with that answer but David and the nurse saved him from the conversation.

"This will help you sleep." The nurse told him as she injected the sedative into his IV. She quickly checked his stats while she was there. "He's doing very well. If he this keeps up he should be back on his feet in no time." She gave them a reassuring smile before leaving the room.

"She's really nice." Colby smiled dopily at them. The pain medicine was already kicking in. "She said I'd be on my feet. That means I don't have to be on desk duty."

Don looked at David in disbelief, "He's half doped up and he's still trying to get out of desk duty."

"Why am I not surprised?" David smiled. Colby was back.

"He's your partner, so he's your responsibility when he gets out of here." Don passed the buck to him. "I'm not dealing with him."

David shrugged, "I owe him that much."

Don smiled when Colby finally fell into a restful and painless sleep. "Come on. Let's go home."

 **The End.**


End file.
